Donald Trump invited for unprecedented second state visit, says Starmer
The US president said he would be visiting the UK in the ‘near future’ as he met the Prime Minister in the Oval Office.
Donald Trump has been invited for an unprecedented second state visit by the King, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
As well as the invite from the Palace, the US president said he would be visiting the UK in the “near future” as he met the Prime Minister at the White House.
Mr Trump and Sir Keir are meeting for crunch talks on Ukraine, trade and technology, with the Prime Minister set to push his US counterpart on the idea of a US “backstop” for any peace deal with Kyiv.
Sir Keir handed Mr Trump a letter from the King as the two were facing cameras in the Oval Office ahead of the more in-depth talks.
Mr Trump was also hosted by the late Queen on a state visit during his first term in office in 2019, but precedent for second-term US presidents who have already made a state visit is usually tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.
Mr Trump showed the letter marked “private and confidential” and featuring Charles’s signature to the cameras gathered in the White House.
The King suggested that he and Mr Trump could meet before that visit, either at Dumfries House or Balmoral which are near the businessman’s golf courses in Scotland, to discuss the plans for the much grander state visit.
The letter, partially obscured by Mr Trump’s hand, reads: “I can only say that it would be … pleasure to extend that invitation once again, in the hope that you … some stage be visiting Turnberry and a detour to a relatively near neighbour might not cause you too much inconvenience. An alternative might perhaps be for you to visit Balmoral…
“There is much on both estates which I think you might find interesting, and enjoy – particularly as my foundation at Dumfries House provides hospitality skills training for young people who often end up as staff on your own establishments!”
The high-stakes meeting comes amid uncertainty over the future of Ukraine and what guarantees the US could give to maintain a peace deal.
Ahead of Thursday’s talks, Mr Trump had said that he would not provide guarantees “beyond very much” and has insisted it is for Europeans to protect Ukraine.
However, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is expected at the White House on Friday to sign a deal that will give the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth mineral resources, which Mr Trump has now described as a “backstop”.
He told reporters: “It’s a backstop, you could say, I don’t think anybody’s going to play around if we’re there with a lot of workers and having to do with rare earths and other things which we need for our country.”
Mr Trump also said that he did not think Vladimir Putin would be at risk of invading Ukraine again in the event a peace deal is secured.
In the same session in front of the cameras, Mr Trump also said he is “inclined to go along with” the UK’s Chagos Islands deal.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy had suggested the agreement could be off if it did not get the president’s backing, but Mr Trump said they would be having discussions about the deal during their meeting.
The UK is in talks with Mauritius about handing over sovereignty of the territory, but leasing back the strategically important Diego Garcia military base which is used by the US.
He added: “I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well.”
Indicating he would be inclined to back the Prime Minister’s deal, the president said: “I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country.”
Mr Trump had greeted Sir Keir with a warm handshake as he arrived minutes earlier and said that “we can” reach a peace deal on Ukraine, when asked by reporters.
The two then entered the White House followed by Foreign Secretary David Lammy and the UK’s ambassador to the US Lord Mandelson.
Greeting the Prime Minister inside the White House, Mr Trump said it was a “great honour” to have Sir Keir visit.
“It’s a very special place and he’s a special man – and the United Kingdom is a wonderful country that I know very well, I’m there a lot.
“I’ll be going there and we expect to see each other in the near future – we’ll be announcing it,” he added.
Mr Trump said: “We’re going to be discussing many things today, we’re going to be discussing Russia/Ukraine, we’ll be discussing trade and lots of other items, and I think we can say we are going to be getting along on every one of them.
“We’ve had a tremendous relationship and, frankly, the Prime Minister and I have met twice before, and we get along very famously, as you would say, and I look forward to it very much.
“We look forward to the day and the meeting, and we’ll be having a luncheon after this, and then another work session, and I believe we’re going to have a press conference at the end – so I look forward to it and, Mr Prime Minister, thank you very much.”
